Free NHIE practice test PDF

The PDF has:

• 50 multiple choice questions from all 19 tasks on the outline
• An answer key at the end, with the reason for every answer
• A table of how many questions each domain gets, so you can score yourself by domain

Every question is one of the free questions on NHIE practice questions by topic, so you can also practice them online, ten to a topic.

1. A patio runs along the top of a retaining wall, and the ground below the wall is 36 inches lower. The home inspector should treat the drop as:

   • A. A normal drop that needs no comment
   • B. A possible fall hazard to report
   • C. A defect that calls for an engineer design
   • D. A hazard to report when a guard is required

   Answer: B. Safety issues rarely arise from retaining walls. Where a walking surface borders a retaining wall and the ground beyond it is over 30 inches lower, the wall may present a fall hazard to report, with or without a guard requirement. The engineer design rule concerns wall height and lateral load, not a drop beside a walking surface. More site conditions questions.

2. A home inspector traces the circuit serving a 240 volt water heater. This circuit is:

   • A. sometimes a multiwire branch circuit when the panel is full
   • B. usually not a multiwire branch circuit
   • C. often a feeder rather than a branch circuit
   • D. usually a split-wire receptacle circuit

   Answer: B. A 240 volt water heater circuit is usually not a multiwire branch circuit, and neither are the circuits for air conditioner or heat pump condensers. A feeder supplies a second panelboard, such as a subpanel, which a water heater circuit does not do. Split-wire receptacle circuits, ranges, and clothes dryers can be multiwire. More electrical questions.

3. A home inspector fills a bathroom sink with both faucets open and the drain fully open, and water rises to the flood rim level. What does this indicate about the sink?

   • A. It has functional drainage
   • B. It has a proper air gap
   • C. It lacks functional drainage
   • D. It lacks a trap primer

   Answer: C. Reading this as an air gap problem confuses the supply side with the drain side. Functional drainage means the fixture drains at about the rate water flows in, and with the drain fully open, water should be unable to climb to the flood rim level. More plumbing questions.

4. Ten minutes after a home inspector leaves, a supply line under the kitchen sink begins to leak. The report described the plumbing as functioning. Which limitation does this show?

   • A. The inspection is not technically exhaustive in any one trade
   • B. The report covers conditions only as they were during the inspection
   • C. Components behind occupant belongings are treated as concealed
   • D. Spaces under sink cabinets are not readily accessible to the inspector

   Answer: B. Conditions change, sometimes within minutes after the inspection ends, and the report speaks to what existed while the inspector was present. That is why the inspector should explain this limitation to the client both in person and in writing. Not technically exhaustive describes the inspector as a generalist, which does not explain a leak that started later. More report limitations questions.

5. Acceptance of an offer may be an act, or it may be:

   • A. inferred from a party's conduct
   • B. made by changing a term offered
   • C. presumed once an offer is posted
   • D. shown only by a signed document

   Answer: A. Acceptance takes the offer exactly as offered, and it may come through an act or be read from conduct. A reply that changes a term is a counteroffer rather than an acceptance. Posting a fee is the offer itself, and it accepts nothing. More pre-inspection agreement questions.

Sit it in one go, timed at 60 minutes, and answer every question. A blank counts the same as a wrong answer. Then count your right answers in each domain. The domain with the lowest share is where your next study hours go.

To practice on screen instead, the free 20 question quiz scores itself as you go. For other free tests and how they compare, see free NHIE practice tests compared.